Celebrate 10 years in business

UPDATED with closing stock price: Disney stock closed at $86.75 a share, down more than 13% as investors punished the company for its disappointing quarterly earnings report and weak earnings forecast. The single-day plunge was the biggest for Disney shares since the onset of Covid in the U.S. in March 2020, when it also fell 13%. The shares have fallen more than 43% in 2022 to date, compared with a drop of less than 10% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. PREVIOUS: Disney stock has fallen more than 11% today on double its normal trading volume, as investors recalibrate their expectations in light of a shaky quarterly earnings report. At $88.53, Disney shares were at their lowest point since they dipped into the $80s for a couple of trading days during Covid lockdowns in March 2020. Prior to that, the last time the stock closed at or below $86.75 was in 2015. Bears seized on the company’s much-lower-than-expected profit forecast as well as a significant … [Read more...] about Disney Stock Plunges 13% To New Multi-Year Low On Earnings Miss, Weak Profit Outlook – Update

EXCLUSIVE : Renowned documentarian Lisa Cortés has entered into a first-look development agreement with the Museum of the City of New York , the goal being to hone documentary IP based on the museum’s exhibitions. News of the deal — initiated by producer Jon Sechrist — follows the Sundance world premiere of Cortés’ latest critically acclaimed feature doc, Little Richard: I Am Everything , which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in U.S. Documentary Competition and sold to Magnolia Pictures. Cortés will now look to build a creative pipeline from MCNY’s 100 years of exhibitions to the screen, with plans for projects on food, social justice, music, and more. The first being made under the deal is a docuseries based on Gingerbread NYC: The Great Borough Bake-Off , an exhibition inviting bakers from every borough to design New York City-inspired gingerbread creations. Cortés will develop and produce all projects through her New York-based production company Cortés … [Read more...] about ‘Little Richard: I Am Everything’s Lisa Cortés Strikes First-Look Development Deal With Museum Of The City Of New York

Warner Bros Discovery has ditched plans for a 100% merger of streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+ and will continue offering the latter as a stand-alone product. Insiders confirmed the strategic shift with Deadline after it was initially reported by The Wall Street Journal . The WSJ cited unidentified people familiar with the decision, saying they felt Discovery+ subscribers could balk at paying a higher price for a combined service. HBO Max costs $16 a month, or $10 with ads, compared with $7 and $5 for the respective equivalents of Discovery+. Over the past several months, WBD execs have talked of combining the two into a single offering. HBO Max has already been featuring Discovery titles more prominently of late, even though the ultimate fit between prestige HBO fare and Discovery mainstays like 90-Day Fiancé has been questioned both inside and outside of the company. The plan now is to continue to have Discovery+ in the market even as a newly … [Read more...] about Warner Bros Discovery Abandons Plan To Shut Down Discovery+ As Stand-Alone Service As It Moves Ahead With HBO Max Merger

Recent Grammy winner Bad Bunny , Christina Aguilera and Jeremy Pope will be honored at the 34th annual GLAAD Media Awards next month for advancing and supporting the LGBTQ community. Bad Bunny — Spotify’s most-streamed artist in the world last year — will receive the Vanguard Award for having made “a significant difference in promoting acceptance of LGBTQ people and issues.” Five-time Grammy winner Aguilera will receive the Advocate for Change Award for having “changed the game for LGBTQ people around the world.” And Pose alum and two-time Tony nominee Pope will receive the Stephen F. Kolzak Award for having made “a significant difference in raising visibility and promoting acceptance of LGBTQ people and issues.” Read bios for all three below. The awards show will be handed during the March 30 ceremony at the Beverly Hilton. RELATED: 2023 Awards Season Calendar – Dates For The Oscars, Guilds & More Bad Bunny’s advocacy and outspoken allyship for the … [Read more...] about GLAAD Media Awards: Bad Bunny, Christina Aguilera & Jeremy Pope Set For Honors

Disney is reorganizing its sprawling businesses under three core segments — Entertainment, ESPN and Parks , Experiences & Products — as CEO Bob Iger moves to restructure the company. The move follows his dismantling of DMED , or Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, set up by previous CEO Bob Chapek , that wrested control over content decisions by the company’s creative executives. Now we know what the new structure will look like. It’s aimed at returning creative authority to Disney’s “world-class creative team” and its “unparalleled brands and franchises,” he said during a conference call following the company’s first-quarter earnings report. The reorganization is a key element of a transformation that he said also will help rationalize the streaming business for sustained growth and profitability and reducing expenses in a world of increased competition and global economic challenges. The DTC business, except for ESPN+ , will be under … [Read more...] about Disney Reorganizes Into Three Segments, Entertainment, ESPN & Parks

Microsoft ’s proposed $69B acquisition of Activision could bring harm to the UK’s 45M-strong gaming community, the nation’s competition body has ruled. In a provisional finding delivered in the past hour, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that Microsoft “buying one of the world’s most important game publishers would reinforce [its] strong position and substantially reduce the competition that Microsoft would otherwise face in the cloud gaming market in the UK.” Both companies can respond to the ruling, which will conclude in April. Microsoft already accounts for an estimated 60% to 70% of global cloud gaming services, said the ruling, and corners the market in other ways via its ownership of Xbox, Windows and Azure. A small number of Activision’s flagship games such as Call of Duty play an important role in driving competition between consoles, added the CMA, which said Xbox and Playstation’s competition would “weaken competition” and “in turn … [Read more...] about Microsoft Activision Deal Could Bring Harm To UK Gaming Community, Rules Regulator

Fox will be actively pursuing M&A opportunities now that it won’t be merging with News Corp. Outside shareholders of both of the Murdoch family holdings had protested after patriarch Rupert last fall asked the respective boards to explore a combination . In January, he took that off the table, opening a door to other possibilities. Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch stressed a few times today on the company’s quarterly conference call with Wall Streeters that other deal or deals are likely because “I do think scale is important.” Fox reported strong numbers for its fiscal second quarter and a solid balance sheet. Its defined focus on sports and news helped boost ad revenue in a soft market, and has been keeping the stock a favorite with investors. But it’s smaller than some of its media peers since it was spun out on its own after the rest of 21st Century Fox was sold to Disney for years ago. Major media transactions slowed after Amazon/MGM and Warner Bros. Discovery, … [Read more...] about Fox Eyes M&A After Merger With News Corp. Scrapped: “Scale Is Important” – Lachlan Murdoch

Netflix is rolling out paid password sharing in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain as the company looks to reap revenue from a practice it long encouraged customers to engage in at no charge. A blog post confirmed the rollout and said it would expand in the coming months. The announcement followed some online unrest earlier in the week when a company web page pertaining to tests of the password plan in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru went live in other countries. (A trial of the new setup launched in those countries last year.) The bulletin ricocheted around online, causing anxiety over its apparent requirement for users to specify a “primary location” for a given household’s accounts. Backlash centered on the notion of having to verify WiFi information on a regular basis. “We know there’s been a lot of confusion about sharing Netflix,” the company acknowledged in a tweet. “A Netflix account is intended for one household,” it continued, adding that the aim is to “give you … [Read more...] about Netflix Expands Paid Password Sharing To Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain

Fox Corp. matched Wall Street expectations for its fiscal second quarter, powered by NFL football in the U.S. and football at the World Cup. The company reported total revenue in the quarter ending December 31 of $4.61 billion, up 4% from the year-earlier period, and earnings of 48 cents a share. Affiliate fee revenues rose 1% thanks to 6% growth at the Television unit. Ad revenue climbed 4%, no mean feat in a tough economic climate, mostly due to the World Cup in Qatar and strong NFL results at Fox Sports. Other boosts came from political spending at the company’s local stations and growth for streaming service Tubi. The category of “other revenue” increased 13%, which the company said was primarily due to the December acquisition of Mar Vista Entertainment and higher Fox Nation subscription revenue. Fox has not disclosed subscriber numbers for Fox Nation, which launched in 2018. It is the first quarterly report for Fox since the company and its corporate sibling, … [Read more...] about Fox Corp. Ad Revenue Climbs 4% In A Tough Quarter, Boosted By NFL And World Cup

EXCLUSIVE: Anthony Hemingway has a sweet tooth about a very serious subject. The Emmy-winning director and his Anthony Hemingway Productions shingle has joined the documentary Sugar Daddy as a producer. Directed by long time cinematographer Michael Cooke and executive producer Anthony J Davis, Sugar Daddy focuses on the devastating health consequences of sugar overconsumption targeted at Black Americans. Currently raising preliminary funds through an online campaign and working with healthcare veterans, the  film is scheduled to start production this summer. To put the stakes in perspective, sugar overconsumption is the #1 cause of diabetes, which Black Americans are diagnosed with 60% more than adult White Americans. “I founded Anthony Hemingway Productions to tell stories that have the power to galvanize a community, educate people, and change lives,” Hemingway told Deadline today. “That’s what we plan to do as we investigate and highlight the … [Read more...] about Anthony Hemingway Boards ‘Sugar Daddy’ Docu With Director Michael Cooke & EP Anthony J. Davis